Written Answers Thursday 11 June 2009

Scottish Executive

Central Heating Programme

Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in (a) Inverclyde and (b) Scotland have been refused a new central heating system under the energy assistance package since 22 May 2008.

Alex Neil: The information requested is not available. The Energy Assistance Package was launched on 6 April 2009 and full monitoring information will only become available through time as applicants move through the stages. The Package presents a holistic approach to tackling fuel poverty by providing a range of people with a range of services at each stage including: income maximisation, energy efficiency advice and social tariff checks at stages 1 & 2, standard insulation measures at stage 3, and enhanced measures to improve the energy efficiency of the home at stage 4 including in some instances, new central heating systems. Information on the numbers receiving assistance at each stage of the package, including those who have received heating systems, will be published monthly on the Energy Saving Trust webpage once this becomes available.

Civil Servants

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid in performance-related pay to senior civil servants in the last two years.

John Swinney: Senior Civil Service pay is a reserved issue with decisions on framework taken by the UK Government. Senior civil servants (SCS) would have been eligible for both a consolidated performance pay increase and a non-consolidated performance payment. In 2007 and 2008, the additional cost of the consolidated pay increase from the previous year and the non-consolidated performance payments for SCS in the core Scottish Government was £1,488,054 and £1,655,715 respectively.

Class Sizes

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources have been allocated to Glasgow City Council for a reduction in class sizes from 2007 onwards.

Keith Brown: Funding of £9 million for employing additional teachers to make progress on class size reduction and early year’s commitments was announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 20 June 2007. Glasgow’s share was £978,300. The Scottish Government is now providing local authorities with record levels of funding with which to meet the terms of the concordat with Local Government. Following the approval of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Scotland) Amendment Order 2009, on 29 March 2009, the total package of funding for Glasgow City Council will see an investment of £3,268.7 million over 2008-10. Annual figures are £1597.7 million for 2008-09 and £1671.0 million for 2009-10.

Class Sizes

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what reference there is to class sizes in the single outcome agreement relating to Glasgow City Council.

Keith Brown: The single outcome agreements (SOAs) reflect the priorities and agreed outcomes for each council and include relevant supporting indicators and targets. Copies of all 32 SOAs, once agreed with local authorities, can be obtained via the Improvement Service website at the following link http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/single-outcome-agreements/ .

Credit Unions

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which credit unions have benefited from the Scottish Investment Fund and how much each has been awarded.

Jim Mather: None. To date no credit unions have applied to the Scottish Investment Fund.

Credit Unions

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which credit unions have benefited from the Third Sector Enterprise Fund and how much each has been awarded.

Jim Mather: Three credit unions have had awards from the Third Sector Enterprise Fund which incorporates the Third Sector Credit Union Fund (TSCUF).

  Capital Credit Union - £69,000.

  Glasgow South Credit Union - £24,700 (TSCUF).

  Renfrewshire-wide Credit Union - £6,000 (TSCUF).

Dentistry

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered NHS dentists there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by Scottish Parliament constituency.

Shona Robison: The number of NHS dentists (head count) who have provided NHS general dental services, broken down by Scottish parliamentary constituency for years ending 31 March 2000 onwards, is shown in the following table.

  Years Ending 31 March

  

Parliamentary Constituency
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008


Scotland
1,982
1,991
2,037
2,078
2,105
2,153
2,301
2,474
2,576


Aberdeen Central
64
62
66
72
70
67
71
79
71


Aberdeen North
19
16
11
15
17
17
18
15
49


Aberdeen South
15
13
13
11
11
11
12
13
13


Airdrie and Shotts
28
25
24
24
24
23
23
23
26


Angus
37
40
38
40
39
38
48
47
49


Argyll and Bute
23
22
22
23
27
27
30
35
42


Ayr
42
44
44
42
47
48
48
48
48


Banff and Buchan
27
26
25
20
19
22
21
25
28


Caithness
20
21
20
16
17
18
22
25
19


Carrick
18
13
14
14
16
15
14
28
35


Central Fife
27
32
30
31
32
29
57
61
56


Clydebank and Milngavie
30
30
30
31
29
30
32
32
30


Clydesdale
26
28
30
30
29
25
28
27
31


Coatbridge and Chryston
26
25
27
27
29
29
33
34
32


Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
26
26
26
25
32
35
29
27
24


Cunninghame North
27
29
31
32
30
30
27
27
31


Cunninghame South
27
25
26
26
27
26
29
26
26


Dumbarton
37
34
33
32
31
32
37
38
39


Dumfries
29
29
26
27
28
25
26
37
50


Dundee East
29
32
30
32
33
35
35
43
45


Dundee West
52
50
49
50
51
52
59
64
57


Dunfermline East
30
30
30
31
28
27
26
26
26


Dunfermline West
28
30
32
32
27
31
31
31
38


East Kilbride
34
32
36
39
42
42
44
41
44


East Lothian
27
27
28
28
29
30
30
32
32


Eastwood
44
45
45
45
46
51
53
54
52


Edinburgh Central
44
50
50
56
53
51
60
61
55


Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
35
30
32
31
38
40
36
39
55


Edinburgh North and Leith
61
64
73
78
74
67
66
70
67


Edinburgh Pentlands
20
18
20
22
21
21
22
19
20


Edinburgh South
56
58
57
59
55
54
61
70
85


Edinburgh West
48
46
47
43
41
42
40
42
40


Falkirk East
20
23
22
23
22
23
23
24
32


Falkirk West
33
33
34
32
31
34
38
49
50


Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
18
15
14
16
16
18
18
25
22


Glasgow Anniesland
22
22
22
25
24
26
27
27
25


Glasgow Baillieston
15
17
17
16
14
16
18
18
20


Glasgow Cathcart
24
24
29
31
31
34
33
32
33


Glasgow Govan
56
53
56
59
59
66
59
66
67


Glasgow Kelvin
69
72
75
73
75
87
93
100
110


Glasgow Maryhill
35
32
34
34
37
36
35
34
39


Glasgow Pollok
23
21
23
21
21
24
26
26
31


Glasgow Rutherglen
27
26
27
27
27
27
27
29
28


Glasgow Shettleston
40
38
36
35
36
41
39
38
47


Glasgow Springburn
31
32
33
33
34
35
32
32
34


Gordon
24
21
22
23
21
23
24
31
25


Greenock and Inverclyde
22
24
25
22
26
24
24
30
34


Hamilton North and Bellshill
48
46
46
47
47
53
49
47
49


Hamilton South
18
21
19
21
21
24
27
26
35


Inverness East
50
50
52
52
49
54
58
70
91


Kilmarnock and Loudoun
32
32
29
33
35
34
36
38
43


Kirkcaldy
37
36
35
38
37
35
36
38
37


Linlithgow
32
33
34
35
36
36
37
39
45


Livingston
45
39
37
37
37
41
44
46
46


Midlothian
22
19
18
21
19
19
19
20
22


Moray
23
23
23
24
26
28
27
31
27


Motherwell and Wishaw
26
25
28
29
30
34
34
36
36


North East Fife
30
28
26
28
26
25
25
25
26


North Tayside
39
44
46
47
48
46
44
45
52


Ochil
20
21
21
22
19
17
19
18
25


Orkney Islands
6
6
7
6
9
9
11
12
12


Paisley North
35
35
39
35
36
32
33
34
37


Paisley South
44
51
53
52
51
49
51
54
53


Perth
36
37
41
47
39
41
55
61
61


Ross
23
24
24
24
28
29
31
33
24


Roxburgh and Berwickshire
24
24
28
26
24
23
25
27
32


Shetland Islands
8
7
11
11
12
12
13
16
18


Stirling
36
35
40
40
39
41
44
36
38


Strathkelvin and Bearsden
34
33
35
40
47
50
51
47
49


Tweeddale
27
28
29
27
25
24
25
31
28


West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
24
23
22
23
27
30
32
31
25


West Renfrewshire
21
24
24
23
21
20
22
21
24


Western Isles
12
12
7
10
9
10
14
15
15



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).

  Notes:

  1. This data relates to the number of dentists in post, not the whole-time equivalent figure, as information on the working hours of each dentist is not collected.

  2. This data includes the number of NHS non-salaried and salaried principals, assistants and vocational dental practitioners, based on the location of the dental practice.

  3. The sum of the number of NHS general dental practitioners in each Scottish parliamentary constituency exceeds the number practising in Scotland: an NHS general dental practitioner may enter into more than one arrangement with an NHS board if he/she has more than one practice, or enter into an arrangement with more than one NHS board if he/she practises in more than one NHS board area.

  4. Clinical and management information on salaried general dental services is now partly being recorded on a new computer system (R4) that transmits data to Practitioner Services Division as if from a central location. Although treatment continues to be provided from a large number of locations, these arrangements for recording information will in some instances suggest that the number of dentists providing salaried NHS general dental services treatment has significantly increased or reduced. The effect of dentists beginning to transmit their data from a central location will be most acutely observed across smaller areas, such as Scottish parliamentary constituency.

Education

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of figures that indicate a fall in modern language learning, what action it is taking to promote uptake.

Keith Brown: There has not been a fall in modern languages learning in Scotland, with increases at nearly all levels and languages and year on year in most cases since 1999.

  For example, total presentations for French have increased from 39,466 in 1999 to 41,018 in 2008 and, at a time of falling school rolls, the number of pupils taking modern languages highers has increased from 5,402 pupils in 1999 to 6,374 in 2008. Furthermore, the numbers of pupils taking modern languages to Higher and Advanced Higher has increased proportionately with 94.2 presentations per 1,000 pupils in 2008 at higher compared to 84.0 per 1,000 in 1999 - a 12% increase - and 29.8 presentations per 1,000 pupils in 2008 at advanced higher compared to 22.0 per 1,000 in 1999 – a 35% increase.

  The following table shows Modern Languages Qualification Entries (Presentations) from 1999-2008 in publicly-funded Schools in Scotland for pupils in Secondary 4 and Secondary 5/6.

  

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008


Numbers of entries for:- Access 3, Standard Grade, Intermediate 1 and 2 (taken in S4)
54,962
56,373
58,162
58,185
57,699
56,682
54,133
54,945
53,066
51,801


Numbers of entries for Access 3, Standard Grade and Intermediate 1 and 2 / 1,000 pupils in S4
933
928
926
924
900
891
874
857
822
819


Numbers of entries for Higher
5,402
5,596
5,993
6,645
6,652
6,385
6,212
5,650
6,263
6,374


Numbers of entries for Highers/ 1,000 pupils in S5/6
84
87
92
102
101
96
94
88
95
94


Numbers of entries for Advanced Higher
579
504
671
736
777
805
757
781
655
820


Numbers of entries for Advanced Highers/ 1,000 pupils in S6
22
19
25
28
28
30
28
29
25
30



  The following table shows Modern Languages Qualification Entries (Presentations) from 1999–2008 in publicly-funded Schools in Scotland for French, German and Spanish at Higher and Advanced Higher.

  

Year
French
German
Spanish


Higher
AdvancedHigher
Higher
AdvancedHigher
Higher
AdvancedHigher


1999
3,196
357
1,519
154
537
60


2000
3,259
330
1,650
111
537
54


2001
3,495
388
1,726
186
625
83


2002
3,929
441
1,884
169
614
105


2003
4,078
462
1,631
205
735
89


2004
3,855
531
1,535
170
764
94


2005
3,749
455
1,443
174
784
109


2006
3,568
483
1,143
167
745
96


2007
3,859
441
1,375
115
845
77


2008
3,922
547
1,276
157
960
98



  We are promoting the uptake of modern languages in primary and secondary schools through Curriculum for Excellence which aims to raise the bar of modern languages learning and teaching in Scotland and ensure that all young people are prepared for life in the globalised 21st century world. The Experiences and Outcomes for Modern Language, published on 2 April 2009, reinforces the expectation that schools will offer a modern language no later than primary 6 and states that every child and young person in Scotland is entitled to experience a broad general education, which includes learning modern languages, to the end of secondary 3. In addition, modern language learning and teaching through Curriculum for Excellence will be more exciting, engaging and relevant.

  The new Scottish Language Baccalaureate will also be an important element within the Curriculum for Excellence programme to promote modern languages. The award aims to encourage more of our young people to continue to study language courses through to the later stages of secondary school thereby raising the status of the final years of Secondary school and assisting our young people in making the transition from school to higher and further education and employment.

  We have also just completed the launch of eight Confucius Classroom Hubs, involving 13 local authorities across the country, which are promoting the learning of Chinese language and culture. These are outlined in the following table:

  

Confucius Classroom Hub
Launch Date
Hub Location
Local Authorities Involved


Edinburgh 
9 May 2008
St Georges School
Edinburgh 


Perth and Kinross
3 November 2008
Perth High School
Perth and Kinross


Ayrshire
12 January 2009
Grange Academy
North, East and South Ayrshire


West Lothian
30 January 2009
Bathgate Academy
West Lothian


East Dunbartonshire
13 February 2009
St Ninians High School
East Dunbartonshire


North Lanarkshire
20 February 2009
Our Lady’s High School
North Lanarkshire


Glasgow
27 February 2009
Hillhead Academy
Glasgow


North East
5 March 2009
Hazelhead Academy
Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Angus

Education

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many placing requests for children in primaries one to three there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Keith Brown: The precise information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. However, statistical information on placing requests, broken down by local authority, can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/PubPlacingRequests .

Education

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals there have been in relation to placing requests for children in primaries one to three in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Keith Brown: The precise information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. However, statistical information on placing requests, including numbers of appeals, can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/PubPlacingRequests .

Education

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions ministers have had with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator about the charitable status of private schools and what the outcome has been.

Fergus Ewing: Ministers have had no discussions with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) about the charitable status of private schools. The charitable status of private schools is a matter for OSCR, as an independent regulator.

Employment

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance and support is available for people who are made redundant and how this support is obtained.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government’s Partnership Action for Continuing Employment "PACE" initiative provides support to people who are facing redundancy. People can access the helpline or the website for financial assistance which is available through a number of initiatives:

  Training for Work provides financial assistance for training or re-training for those threatened with redundancy and for redundant workers as soon as they become unemployed.

  Through Individual Learning Accounts up to £500 is available for people who wish to re-train or up-skill.

  Career Development Loans help fund fee and other costs associated with training.

  The £7 million made available from the Scottish Funding Council from January this year until August next year enables colleges to underwrite the cost of courses for redundant workers.

Employment

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the employment outcomes of recent teaching graduates are being monitored and when the results of any monitoring will be published.

Keith Brown: The General Teaching Council for Scotland carry out a survey of the employment status of teachers in their post probation year each October. The Council now also conducts a follow-up survey each April. The results of the latest follow up survey from April 2009 were published on 3 June 2009.

Enterprise

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts are being made to support expanding businesses in the Scottish Borders during the economic downturn.

John Swinney: In the face of recession, we remain firmly committed to our overarching purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth. However, we are very aware that action is required now to protect the nation from the worst of the downturn and ensure Scotland is well placed to recover quickly. We will publish an updated Programme for Economic Recovery on 15 June.

  This programme allows us to be dynamic and flexible in our response to the downturn yet remain within the overall direction of our Government Economic Strategy.

  To this end we have charged Scottish Enterprise to assist growing companies in the Borders and throughout Scotland, to address particular areas of their business including: refocusing strategy; developing new market/customer opportunities; new product development and innovation; reducing operating costs and increasing efficiencies, and advice on access to funding where appropriate.

Enterprise

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what grants or other financial assistance Hewlett Packard/Compaq has received in each of the 10 years to 31 March 2009.

Jim Mather: In 1994, Compaq accepted a Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) offer of £5.3 million for an expansion project involving capital expenditure of over £24 million. This led to the creation of 547 new jobs. In 1996, £1.7 million was offered for further expansion which involved capital expenditure of over £10 million and led to the creation of a further 250 jobs. The final instalments of both these grants were paid in March 1997 and both were out of conditions in 2000.

  Hewlett Packard took over Compaq in 2001. Hewlett Packard have not received any RSA grant assistance.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has given any consideration to the possibility of introducing a levy on chewing gum and, if so, what conclusions it has reached.

Richard Lochhead: Carelessly discarded chewing gum, like all forms of litter, is ugly and harms the environment, however it does not happen by itself. We need to acknowledge that it is members of the public who cause litter. We believe it is important that people take personal responsibility for their own actions and how they affect others.

  It is important that people care for their environment and dispose of their litter correctly. To get this message across to the general public, the Scottish Government provides the core funding to the independent environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB), who run a number of anti-litter campaigns designed to raise public awareness of the problem. In particular, they co-ordinate local level clean-ups all over Scotland involving community groups, tenant associations and schools. Further information about the work of KSB is available at http://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/.

  We have no plans to introduce a levy on chewing gum.

Finance

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it proposes to make a statement to the Parliament on the details of its proposed Scottish Investment Bank.

John Swinney: I will make a statement to the Parliament as soon as possible after the summer recess to provide further details of progress in developing the Scottish Investment Bank.

Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the basis is of the calculation underpinning the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth’s comments to the Finance Committee on 19 May 2009 that the total managed expenditure is likely to fall by about 0.1% in real terms from 2011-12 to 2013-14 ( Official Report c. 1304).

John Swinney: The forecasts for future growth in UK Total Managed Expenditure (TME) made at the Finance Committee on the 19 May were derived from the projections contained in the UK Budget 2009.

  TME consists of current expenditure and gross investment. The UK Budget 2009 contained projections for current expenditure and gross investment from 2009-10 to 2013-14 (Table C4, UK Budget 2009). Using these projections and the GDP deflators (which are estimates for the years from 2009-10) provided in the Budget document (Table C1, UK Budget 2009), it is possible to estimate the expected change in TME for this period. On this basis it is estimated that TME at the UK level will decline by 0.1% a year in real terms on average between 2011-12 and 2013-14.

Foster Care

Christopher Harvie (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards creating a national protocol for the objective and independent handling of employment disputes between foster carers and the local authorities they are contracted by.

Adam Ingram: A small number of foster carers are employed in which case they would be subject to normal employment terms and conditions.

  Where foster carers are not employees then a written agreement between the agency and the foster carer, would exist setting out the terms of approval and the role and responsibilities of the foster carer and the local authority.

  The Looked after Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 which were recently laid in Parliament introduce a requirement for the local authority to provide a written review of a decision to terminate, vary or not to grant a foster carer’s approval.

  The Fostering Network recently completed its consultation best practice guidance - responding to allegations against foster carers. The draft document was recently submitted to the Scottish Government and officials are meeting the Fostering Network this week to discuss issues raised in consultation.

Hedges

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will launch its three-month consultation on high hedges.

Fergus Ewing: We plan to launch the consultation exercise on high hedges during the course of this year aiming for a publication date before the end of summer recess.

  We will ensure that the consultation is thorough, effective and appropriate to the target audience.

Homecoming Scotland

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to attract people to Ayrshire as part of Homecoming Scotland.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is committed to the effective marketing of Homecoming and the Homecoming theme runs through VisitScotland’s entire marketing campaign. Marketing started in 2007 targeted at 40 countries around the world, as well as the UK and Scottish market.

  Ayrshire was the focal point for much of the Homecoming launch weekend activity, with Alloway playing host to Iconic Burns, a visual tribute to Robert Burns, attracting a capacity audience of 1,200 and the Homecoming Scotland Burns Supper, attended by local, national and international guests who have helped to keep the legacy of Burns alive. An extensive programme of activities and events across South Ayrshire - Burns Wha Hae - was also co-ordinated by the local authority over the opening weekend.

  In addition to other successful Homecoming events like the Mauchline Plough Match and Mauchline Holy Fair, The Open Championship will be played at Turnberry next month. The Open is part of the Homecoming programme, and in addition to this a number of special activities will take place on Homecoming Day which has been created to attract more visitors to the course for the final day of practice. Continuing with golf, the Maclaurin Galleries in Ayr is hosting Whole in One, a major exhibition charting the history of The Open.

  Many of the key Homecoming events taking place within Ayrshire this year are included in the printed Homecoming Events Guide. 400,000 copies of the current guide have been distributed across the UK, with an earlier international guide distributed around the world. Homecoming activity in Ayrshire is also promoted on the core Homecoming Scotland websites which, in the seven months from October 2008 to the end of April 2009, have attracted over one million user sessions.

  In addition to funded events and partner events, each of the Ayrshire local authorities have local listings on pages within the homecomingscotland2009.com website, promoting more events and festivals, helping to attract visitors to Ayrshire.

Housing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was made available for each local authority to carry out home improvement grants from 2005-06 up to and including 2009-10.

Alex Neil: From 2005-06 to 2009-10, the Scottish Government has made available the amounts shown in the following table to each local authority by means of Private Sector Housing Grant, for investment in private sector housing within their area. The funding is available, not only for home improvements, but also for other assistance such as repairs and disabled adaptations and non-grant investment such as providing information and advice and funding local Care and Repair organisations. The proportion of funding spent on each form of assistance is at the discretion of local authorities in line with local and national priorities.

  

Local Authority
2005-06
  (£ Million)
2006-07
  (£ Million)
2007-08
  (£ Million)
2008-09
  (£ Million)
2009-10
  (£ Million)


Aberdeen City
2.857
2.775
3.404
2.784
2.788


Aberdeenshire
1.574
2.562
1.583
1.220
1.331


Angus
1.047
1.500
1.301
1.047
1.056


Argyll and Bute
3.549
3.826
3.997
3.182
3.066


Clackmannan
0.560
0.576
0.716
0.537
0.517


Dumfries Galloway
3.555
4.459
2.808
2.200
2.165


Dundee
2.386
2.532
2.701
2.190
2.171


East Ayrshire
1.895
1.414
1.217
0.961
0.981


East Dunbarton
0.797
1.003
1.009
0.787
0.839


East Lothian
1.196
1.810
1.857
1.363
1.328


East Renfrew
0.887
0.863
0.795
0.555
0.594


Edinburgh
7.806
7.633
8.789
6.996
7.173


Eilean Siar
4.377
4.303
4.539
3.326
3.155


Falkirk
0.761
1.258
1.380
1.008
1.022


Fife
1.775
2.374
1.813
1.415
1.611


Glasgow
11.461
11.874
13.075
10.664
10.609


Highland
5.226
5.737
5.484
4.354
4.253


Inverclyde
1.277
1.367
1.599
1.199
1.178


Midlothian
0.296
0.711
0.649
0.514
0.522


Moray
1.119
1.541
1.588
1.280
1.248


North Ayrshire
1.711
2.034
1.501
1.216
1.224


North Lanark
5.017
3.574
3.940
2.561
2.620


Orkney
1.396
1.445
1.427
1.124
1.072


Perth and Kinross
1.917
2.310
2.181
1.760
1.750


Renfrewshire
2.149
2.065
2.218
1.704
1.759


Scottish Borders
1.893
1.713
1.551
1.262
1.253


Shetland
0.956
1.978
1.469
0.981
0.926


South Ayrshire
1.107
1.676
1.475
1.166
1.195


South Lanark
5.193
8.642
6.344
4.775
4.771


Stirling
1.205
1.129
1.426
1.168
1.131


West Dunbarton
1.656
1.357
1.246
0.818
0.808


West Lothian
1.224
1.592
1.552
1.218
1.219


Total
79.825
89.633
86.634
67.335
67.335

Housing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it determines levels of funding for local authorities in terms of home improvements.

Alex Neil: Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG) is allocated to local authorities on the basis of a formula, made up of two distinct parts. The first is calculated on the basis of a five-year rolling average of past years’ expenditure data. The second is based on a statistical needs-based formula. The formula was updated by agreement with COSLA to put greater emphasis on the needs-based element and to move from a previous historic needs-based split of 70:30 to a 50:50 weighting respectively over a five year phasing-in period starting in 2009-10.

  The needs-based element is based on a primary factor and several secondary factors are listed.

  

Primary Factor
Stock numbers failing the Scottish Housing Quality Standard


Secondary Factors
Average cost of repairs, % of flatted accommodation, number of households with person over 75, number of households with person sick or disabled, and ability to pay based on % of mortgage debt and number of households on low income



  The ring fencing around PSHG will be removed from 2010-11 but the funding stream will continue to be separately identifiable within the overall funding stream to local authorities until the end of the five year phasing-in period.

Housing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households applied for home improvement grants in each year from 2005-06 up to and including 2009-10, broken down by local authority.

Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Local authorities are not required to record this information.

Housing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households were awarded home improvement grants in each year from 2005-06 up to and including 2009-10, broken down by local authority.

Alex Neil: This information is available on the Scottish Government website – Housing Statistics for Scotland – Private Sector Housing Improvement and Repair Grants:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/Improvements .

Housing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed Scheme of Assistance, in place of home improvement grants, will provide direct financial assistance to homeowners.

Alex Neil: In terms of section 72 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, each local authority must decide and publish its criteria for assisting home owners, and in some cases tenants, with the repair, maintenance and improvement of houses and with adaptations to houses to suit the needs of disabled occupants. The powers that support this ‘scheme of assistance’ approach came into force in April 2009 and will run in parallel with the previous system of improvement and repair grants until 31 March 2010 when the latter will be repealed.

  Under the new regime, local authorities will be able to provide a wider range of assistance from information, advice, and practical assistance to loans and grants. For adaptations, grant is mandatory in most cases where there is a priority need linked to a disability. For other works, statutory guidance makes it clear that grant is still an option although we encourage local authorities to design their criteria so that, in general, other forms of assistance are provided unless grant is needed in order to ensure that priority works are carried out. Where a local authority issues a work notice to enforce necessary works, the authority will be obliged to offer assistance, but it retains discretion over the exact form of help offered.

Local Government Finance

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was provided for unitary charge payments within the revenue element of the Local Government Finance Settlement to local authorities in 2009-10 and how much will be provided in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13, broken down by local authority.

John Swinney: Under the concordat agreement with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), support from the Scottish Government for the unitary charge payments for Public Private Partnership projects was rolled up and included as part of the general revenue grant in the Local Government Finance settlement from 2008-09. It is for each local authority to allocate the total resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and jointly agreed national and local outcomes.

  Decisions on future funding for 2010-11 will be confirmed later in the autumn and for 2011-12 and beyond, will be subject to decisions in the next spending review.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor the amount of money spent by local authorities on mental health services.

Shona Robison: The concordat with local authorities means that the relationship between government and local authorities is one of partnership and co-operation rather than direct management and monitoring.

  The Scottish Government Mental Health Division has, through the Mental Health Benchmarking Group local authority representatives, developed a set of core definitions to measure local authority mental health community services and their function. These are currently being reviewed by the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW) and, through them, individual local authorities. The Scottish Government Mental Health Division has recently appointed a Social Work Benchmarking Manager to work with local authorities and government to look at the practicalities of this data collection and to explore the current information systems are fit for purpose to collect this data.

  Agreement is being sought through each local authority for the above work to progress in a way that fits with their individual systems and local needs but provides, through common definitions, a picture of services across Scotland. A further complexity is that individuals with mental health problems often appropriately access community services that are not specific to mental health and it is therefore difficult to quantify this spend on these individuals in these services.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent by each local authority on mental health services in each of the last 10 years.

Shona Robison: The Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental health services,  acknowledged the difficulty in calculating the exact amount spent by on mental health. This can be due to a number of factors and the diverse way mental health spend can be reflected in other budgets.

  The following table contains net expenditure on social work services for all people aged 18 to 64 where the primary reason for care relates to a mental health need. This information is collected in the LFR 3 (Social Work) return. This is one of a series of financial returns issued annually to local authorities to gather revenue expenditure and income on services. The various categories of expenditure collected in the returns (including the "Adults with Mental Health Needs" category) are based on guidance provided to councils in the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Best Value Accounting Code of Practice 2008.

  Social Work - Adults with Mental Health Needs, Net Revenue Expenditure1 (000)

  

 
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


Scotland
30,137
29,473
30,719
32,508
47,640
63,455
72,830
84,715
72,644
79,580


Aberdeen City
1,595
2,320
2,515
3,206
3,235
3,905
4,404
4,877
5,089
5,179


Aberdeenshire
989
1,116
1,379
1,630
2,037
2,025
2,864
2,875
3,036
3,364


Angus
511
543
1,074
405
704
408
530
994
635
995


Argyll and Bute
587
649
688
727
796
640
1,576
1,117
1,151
1,195


Clackmannanshire
190
375
273
234
810
721
732
967
896
1,034


Dumfries and Galloway
894
745
750
832
1,370
1,431
1,643
2,080
2,453
2,197


Dundee City
658
782
795
1,045
1,053
923
1,122
1,253
1,352
1,528


East Ayrshire
723
526
514
501
973
805
1,062
1,154
1,424
1,658


East Dunbartonshire2
-2
-17
190
212
173
110
1,582
2,051
1,710
1,740


East Lothian
448
406
444
568
490
860
883
1,025
1,023
1,205


East Renfrewshire
593
609
386
608
610
666
687
706
727
934


Edinburgh, City of
3,849
4,227
4,326
4,454
7,032
6,213
6,542
8,277
8,329
9,540


Eilean Siar
376
435
442
463
643
528
592
590
613
596


Falkirk
771
798
949
1,044
1,855
1,634
2,017
2,251
2,028
2,322


Fife
1,936
1,767
1,806
1,561
3,275
4,754
4,635
5,510
6,192
6,945


Glasgow City2,3
1,826
-1,727
919
2,446
2,185
20,287
22,520
24,469
9,988
10,023


Highland
4,297
4,724
1,304
1,289
2,568
1,255
612
1,110
1,069
2,865


Inverclyde
645
421
634
694
815
567
934
962
899
1,153


Midlothian
499
591
618
568
905
874
882
1,217
1,232
1,074


Moray
951
699
707
451
736
1,097
1,105
1,277
1,452
1,443


North Ayrshire
458
468
599
639
1,237
1,199
1,557
1,198
1,283
2,077


North Lanarkshire
1,877
2,237
2,209
2,745
3,335
3,227
2,287
4,951
4,890
5,413


Orkney Islands
307
285
227
211
327
274
416
549
410
565


Perth and Kinross
707
842
1,034
1,007
1,642
1,680
2,369
2,581
2,329
2,124


Renfrewshire
533
1,193
698
856
2,057
1,355
1,246
1,416
1,755
1,806


Scottish Borders
568
656
737
744
1,403
1,521
1,879
2,165
2,129
2,287


Shetland Islands
447
611
862
100
388
118
553
502
671
765


South Ayrshire
649
484
681
461
516
222
120
208
1,017
615


South Lanarkshire
948
1,014
1,027
920
1,252
1,013
1,221
1,390
1,896
2,031


Stirling
379
446
631
624
1,009
979
1,340
1,711
1,187
1,132


West Dunbartonshire
399
512
588
432
931
1,125
1,381
1,409
1,760
1,303


West Lothian
532
735
713
830
1,278
1,039
1,537
1,873
2,019
2,472



  Source: LFR 3 - Social Work, 1998-99 to 2007-08.

  Notes:

  1. Figures are not strictly comparable as from 2002-03 figures include other community care services previously not allocated to client groups.

  2. Negative figures due to income from Health Boards/Trusts recorded by councils as having exceeded expenditure.

  3. Glasgow City’s changes in level of expenditure in 2003-04 and 2006-07 due to council re-examining its social work accounting procedures.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the review of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 will be published.

Shona Robison: The review, together with the Scottish Government’s response and a consultation paper, will be published shortly.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to ensure that NHS boards and local authorities use the same information systems in order to deliver a joined-up responsive service to people with mental health problems.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to questions S3W-24326 and S3W-24331 on 11 June 2009 which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that the Scottish Government and local partners work together to deliver services for people with mental health problems as recommended in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental health services .

Shona Robison: Mental health remains a priority for the Scottish Government and we are working with all partners to deliver on our innovative programme for change and improvement in mental health services. We are making progress in delivering the published challenging national performance targets which cover the full spectrum of mental health care.

  We have published, and NHS boards are now introducing, standards for integrated care pathways to ensure the right care is provided at the right time. These will be accredited by NHS boards later this year. Through the Mental Health Benchmarking Project and the Mental Health Collaborative Information Project we are now working with NHS boards and local authorities to ensure information is available that allows all partners to measure and compare services.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will work with local partners to collect information about services in the community to enable better planning and development of services as recommended in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental health services .

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government initiated the Mental Health NHS Benchmarking Project in 2007, which is mentioned on page 26 of the Audit Scotland report, to obtain more comprehensive information around both inpatient and community services.

  In relation to community mental health services, common definitions of services have been established across Scotland so that they are able to measure and compare the services in each NHS board area in terms of type of service, availability and staffing. This data collection has been piloted in the NHS board areas and a further collection round is due for completion in August 2009. A costing pilot to relate costs of community services to individual services has been completed in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Forth Valley. A recent workshop was held with Finance Officers in each NHS board area in Scotland to explain the methodology to them and each NHS board will now attempt to match costs to community services by the end of the year.

  Local authorities also provide community mental health services both directly or through the voluntary sector. The Mental Health Benchmarking Group has representation from the local authority and through them we have approached the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW) who have taken forward a piece of work to commission common core definitions around local authority services. This report has now to go to ADSW and local authorities for consultation and approval.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how local partners will work to identify and address any gaps in mental health services and the availability of psychological therapies as recommended in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental health services .

Shona Robison: We are supporting NHS boards and their partners to provide services that take account of the evidence that is already available for what works in mental health services and what leads to better outcomes to meet the needs of the people assessed as needing them.

  For psychological therapies, we are working closely with NHS Education for Scotland and NHS boards to develop a range of initiatives to support the development around our commitment to expand and increase access to psychological therapies to meet patient’s needs better and sooner. This includes a tool for NHS boards to use in reviewing available evidence and in considering which psychological interventions might best be used to meet local need and demand for psychological therapies.

  We will also be giving consideration in the coming months to establishing a waiting time target to access psychological therapies. This builds on our work already underway to establish a waiting time target for access to specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). To support this work, we are providing £6.5 million new money over the next three years to develop specialist CAMHS psychology workforce and support additional training places and posts.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that data on waiting times for mental health services are routinely collected and made publicly available.

Shona Robison: We are currently working to establish, by April 2010, a referral to treatment waiting time target for specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

  We have set up a Waiting Time Delivery Board to take this CAMHS agenda forward and to inform an implementation timetable. This includes ensuring that appropriate systems are in place to properly monitor the performance of NHS boards and are transparent to the public.

  In the coming months we will be giving similar consideration to establishing a waiting time target to access psychological therapies.

  On the wider mental health agenda, we are currently addressing information issues through the Benchmarking Project and the Mental Health Collaborative Information Project with its focus on HEAT targets and the development, accreditation and measurement of variance of Integrated Care Pathways.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address waiting times for mental services as outlined in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental health services .

Shona Robison: We are currently working to establish, by April 2010, a referral to treatment waiting time target for specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). As part of this work we are also working towards a new national performance target for NHS boards on faster access to specialist CAMHS.

  We have also set up a Waiting Time Delivery Board to take this CAMHS agenda forward and to inform an implementation timetable. This includes ensuring that appropriate systems are in place to properly monitor the performance of NHS boards and are transparent to the public.

  In the coming months we will be giving similar consideration to establishing a waiting time target to access psychological therapies.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated percentage is of people with (a) drug and (b) alcohol problems whose addiction results from an underlying mental health condition.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Government publication Closing the Gaps – Making a Difference , published on 10 December 2007, states that the UK Psychiatric Morbidity Study on adults living in private households showed that 12% of males and 6% of females had some form of substance dependence combined with a current psychiatric illness.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people with (a) drug and (b) alcohol problems is likely to develop a mental health problem as a result of such addiction.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Government publication Closing the Gaps – Making a Difference , published on 10 December 2007, states that the UK Psychiatric Morbidity Study on adults living in private households showed that 12% of males and 6% of females had some form of substance dependence combined with a current psychiatric illness.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons the prescribing of antidepressants continues to rise.

Shona Robison: This is a complex issue. There are four reasons why anti-depressant prescribing can continue to rise. More people may be anxious or depressed at a level which would meet the guidance for prescribing of anti-depressants. Secondly, more people may present to their GP, perhaps because of the reduction in stigma or increasing public understanding of mental health issues. Thirdly, prescribing practice may change. Fourth, the range of illnesses for which antidepressants are used may increase over time.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason NHS Fife has four times as many staff working in mental health psychology as NHS Highland, which have average waiting times for psychological therapies of 58 and 77 weeks respectively, as highlighted in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental health services .

Shona Robison: Different NHS boards have different configurations of services, including different numbers of doctors, nurses, psychologists and allied health professionals and these reflect different patterns of service structure and historical investment.

  Many common psychological therapies, including those such as cognitive behavioural therapy, are routinely and appropriately delivered by trained nurses, social workers and others and so there is no direct relation between the number of psychologists and access to psychological therapies.

  We have recently announced an additional £6.5 million to increase the number of psychologists working in specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). This is in addition to the £6 million announced for specialist CAMHS services previously.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason NHS Highland has the lowest level of staffing for mental health psychology services at 2.85 per 100,000 population compared to NHS Fife at 9.71 per 100,000 population, as highlighted in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental health services .

Shona Robison: Different NHS boards have different configurations of services, including different numbers of psychologists, doctors, nurses and allied health professionals and these reflect different patterns of service structure and historical investment.

  We have recently announced an additional £6.5 million to increase the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) specialist psychology workforce. This is in addition to the £6 million announced for specialist CAMHS services previously.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason there are no crisis mental health services for older people in Clyde or Highland, as highlighted in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental health services .

Shona Robison: In West Dunbartonshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde provide both a crisis mental health service and an out-of hours mental health service for patients 18 years and over. This provides crisis services for older people if required. In practice, the need for crisis services by older people is very low as they are generally well connected with mental health services, and problems are generally identified during working hours.

  Populations in Highland are widely dispersed and NHS Highland considers that they could not sustain separate crisis services for different groups of people with mental health needs duplicated across the same areas. Consequently, generic crisis response is offered using a combination of NHS 24, out-of-hours primary care, on-call CPNs (Community Psychiatric Nurses) in the inner Moray Firth area, access to telephone advice and 24 hour emergency inpatient services.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the reduction in admissions to psychiatric units illustrates an improvement in patient care, this being a HEAT target.

Shona Robison: The HEAT target is intended to focus attention on three areas of patient care. It is intended to improve attention to crisis services to reduce the number of unplanned admissions. It also focuses on the quality of care within the inpatient unit and discharge planning. Thirdly, meeting the target will require that community services provide good quality care that enables people to remain safe and well in the community.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how reductions in antidepressant prescribing can be achieved given the high levels of vacancies and long waiting times in psychological and psychiatric services as highlighted in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental health services .

Shona Robison: The antidepressant target is intended to focus attention on prescribing practice and medication review as well as alternatives to medication, including psychological therapies but also exercise and lifestyle changes.

  For psychological therapies, we are working closely with NHS Education for Scotland and NHS boards to develop a range of initiatives to support our commitment to expand and increase access to psychological therapies to meet patient’s needs better and sooner. This includes a tool for NHS boards to use in reviewing available evidence and in considering which psychological interventions might best be used to meet local need and demand for psychological therapies.

  We will also be giving consideration in the coming months to establishing a waiting time target to access psychological therapies. This builds on our work already underway to establish a waiting time target for access to specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

  We continue to fund the Breathing Space telephone advice and signposting service for people experiencing low mood, depression or anxiety and NHS Living Life, a pilot telephone cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) service for people who are feeling low, depressed or anxious.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how improvement in the care and treatment of people with dementia will be measured in the HEAT target.

Shona Robison: The HEAT target on dementia focuses on a diagnosis of dementia and inclusion on the GP register. Inclusion on the register triggers automatic physical health reviews and carer assessments, both of which are of direct benefit for those who suffer from dementia and their carers.

  The target it supported, by the piloting in three NHS board areas of effective practical steps for better and earlier identification and interventions and also awareness raising work to ensure people seek help at the earliest possible opportunity.

  These initiatives are also supported by the development of local integrated care pathways (ICPs) to ensure that the right care is available at the right time in the context of local ICP standards developed by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the target for early diagnosis and management of patients with dementia will be measured, as highlighted in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental Health Services .

Shona Robison: The target is measured by the number of people with dementia recorded as such on the GP dementia register.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether appropriate crisis and out-of-hours services for people with mental health problems are available in each NHS board to meet local demand.

Shona Robison: NHS boards, local authorities and other partners address prevention, intervention and recovery through the careful management of individuals during periods of acute illness, relapse or mental distress. Crisis response and out-of-hours services may be delivered in a number of ways, reflecting the needs of the local areas and settings and will include, but not be restricted to, specialist crisis teams, community mental health teams, outreach teams and other services.

  As part of the Mental Health Benchmarking Project, work is underway to develop collection of data around availability of crisis and out-of-hours services.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason there is a range in the amount of money transferred from the NHS to local authorities to support community mental health services, ranging from £2.72 per head of population in Fife to £35.33 in Greater Glasgow and Clyde as highlighted in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of mental health services .

Shona Robison: Resource transfers between NHS boards and local government generally reflect local agreements in respect of the financial consequences of the closure of long stay hospitals and other local service changes so will vary from area to area depending on the extent of service re-alignment.

  Discussions are taking place with COSLA to assess the current arrangements for agreeing and managing resource transfer to ensure an appropriate consistency across Scotland.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in each local authority have received direct payments for their mental health care in each of the last 10 years.

Shona Robison: The number of people with mental health problems who are in receipt of Self-directed Support (Direct Payments) for Scotland is provided in the following table:

  Number of People with Mental Health Problems who are in Receipt of Self-Directed Support (Direct Payments), Scotland, 2001-08

  

 
Number of People with Mental Health Problems


2001
*


2002
6


2003
10


2004
16


2005
43


2006
62


2007
69


2008
73



  Source: Self-directed Support (Direct Payments) survey, Scottish Government.

  Note: *Disclosure control (cell suppression) has been applied due to small numbers.

  Information is only available from 2001.

  Limited Local Authority analyses for those people with mental health problems are available only for 2006-08 (due to the small numbers involved) in the following web publications:

  Direct Payments Scotland 2006 (see Table 10)

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/25160444/0.

  Statistics Release Direct Payments Scotland 2007 (see Table 10)

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/09/24155213/0.

  Self-directed Support (Direct Payments), Scotland, 2008 (see Annex Table 2)

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/10/27092036/0.

  Voices of Experience (VOX) (hosted by the Mental Health Foundation) has been funded to investigate the experiences of people with mental health difficulties in relation to Self-directed Support (SDS) and to develop and disseminate an information resource for service users. Social work staff will be provided with a support resource giving examples of best practice and advice on supporting mental health service users.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Facing Dementia publication is routinely issued by GPs and consultants to people newly diagnosed with dementia.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the distribution of Facing Dementia to people newly diagnosed with dementia.

Shona Robison: NHS Health Scotland recently distributed 36,000 copies of Facing Dementia (Bib. number 47926) and also widely publicised its availability. This included, amongst others, copies to GP practices, Old Age psychiatrists and psychologists and lead contacts in each NHS board area.

  NHS Health Scotland is considering an evaluation of its dissemination strategy with NHS Quality Improvement Scotland to establish whether the publication has reached the target audience of people with dementia and those who care for them.

Mental Health

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it proposes to develop the national strategy for dementia and what will be involved in the wide-ranging consultation process referred to in its news release of 28 May 2009.

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for agreeing a national strategy for dementia.

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the role of the dementia forum will be in the development of a national strategy for dementia.

Shona Robison: The Dementia Strategy will be developed by Scottish Government officials working in consultation with the Scottish Dementia Forum set up to offer multi-representative expert advice on driving the priority agenda forward. These experts include people with dementia.

  It will build on the work already underway and planned on this important agenda and identify further opportunities for change and improvement.

  The Terms of Reference for development of the Strategy are:

  "To develop actions and policies that respect and promote the rights and dignity of people with dementia, in accordance with the principles of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 by improving -

  the early diagnosis and response to dementia, including post-diagnostic support and information for carers;

  the quality of care, treatment and support, wherever this provided;

  the training and knowledge of the workforce, including those in general health and social care settings such as accident and emergency and GP surgeries, and

  the arrangements and resources which need to be in place to ensure effective delivery of the changes that are proposed."

  The strategy will also focus on issues identified in the recent report by the Mental Welfare Commission and Care Commission Remember I’m Still Me which are not particular to dementia but give a significant benefit to those suffering from dementia.

  A paper on the strategy will be available in September 2009. This will be issued to all interested stakeholders for their comments. The members of the Dementia Forum will also be involved in disseminating the paper and its messages widely to their networks and interests. The strategy will be prepared by Easter 2010.

Mental Health

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to discuss with Alzheimer Scotland how its Words into Action on Dementia consultation with carers and people with dementia that will inform the work of the Cross-party Group on Alzheimer’s could be used to shape the development of the national strategy on dementia.

Shona Robison: As Alzheimer Scotland is represented on the Dementia Forum of experts in dementia care that offer advice to the Scottish Government on driving the dementia priority agenda forward, it will be involved in the development of the Dementia Strategy. I next meet with the Dementia Forum on 14 July and look forward to hearing their views on this exciting development for people with dementia, their carers and families.

Mental Health

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm the commitment made by the Minister for Public Health and Sport on Good Morning Scotland on 28 May 2009 that adequate additional resources would be made available to implement a national strategy for dementia.

Shona Robison: I have said that resource issues will be considered as part of the work to develop a Dementia Strategy for Scotland and that remains the case.

Mental Health

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it sees a role for the charter of rights being developed by the Parliament’s Cross-party Group on Alzheimer’s in informing the recommendations for the development of a national strategy on dementia.

Shona Robison: The care and treatment of those with mental illness is governed by existing laws, including laws promoting and protecting their rights. In addition, those with mental illness should receive care and treatment delivered in accordance with the principles set out in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment)(Scotland) Act 2003, and the application of those principles is monitored by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland.

  We will consider the outcome of the work of the Cross Party Group in that context.

Mental Health

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Parliament’s Cross-party Group on Alzheimer’s can contribute to the development of the national strategy on dementia.

Shona Robison: The Cross Party Group on Alzheimer’s will be one of the many organisations whose views will be sought on the content of the Strategy when this becomes available for consultation later this summer.

  If the Cross Party Group would like to provide views in advance of that consultation I would be happy to receive them.

Opencast Mining

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out into the energy input/output ratio of coal extraction by opencast methods and in particular into the quantity of diesel required in the excavation, extraction and transportation of coal.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has not carried out any research into this matter.

Rail Network

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has finalised the rolling stock procurement plan for the Airdrie to Bathgate line and whether the plan is in the public domain.

Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24353 on 10 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Rape

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals charged with rape have been granted bail in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.

  Bail Orders made1,2,3 where Main Offence was Rape, 1998-99 to 2006-07 and part of 2007-084

  

Police Force Area
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03


Central
4
2
1
5
5


Dumfries and Galloway
2
3
6
2
6


Fife 
12
16
16
16
25


Grampian
11
7
7
15
8


Lothian and Borders
30
22
20
29
41


Northern
5
2
7
4
7


Strathclyde
56
69
76
78
86


Tayside
6
12
14
16
35


Scotland 
126
133
147
165
213



  

Police Force Area
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
Period from 1 Aprilto 19 October 2007


Central
24
16
24
37
19


Dumfries and Galloway
1
6
4
4
2


Fife 
22
14
25
21
7


Grampian
13
15
18
21
11


Lothian and Borders
40
42
40
31
28


Northern
16
11
8
13
11


Strathclyde
102
130
118
100
60


Tayside
25
26
31
17
11


Scotland 
243
260
268
244
149



  Notes:

  1. Excludes modifications to existing bail orders.

  2. Where persons receive more than one bail order on the same day, only one bail order per person is counted.

  3. The recording of total numbers of bail orders has improved over time, so some caution is needed when comparing changes from earlier years.

  4. Due to problems with linking information on bail orders to the details of the charges that these orders relate to, it has not been possible to produce a breakdown of bail orders by type of offence for the period from 20 October 2007 onwards.

Schools

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fires there were in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the Lothians region in each of the last 10 years and what proportion of these was started deliberately.

Keith Brown: The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 48305).

Scottish Futures Trust

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the first project funded through the Scottish Futures Trust will be completed.

John Swinney: As is made clear in their Business Plan, published on Friday 5 June, the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is providing advice and guidance to a range of infrastructure investment projects and programmes in Scotland, worth in the region of £2.7 billion.

  The plan also reaffirms that developing innovative financing approaches to infrastructure investment is one of SFT’s core activities.

Scottish Futures Trust

Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on COSLA’s decision to go it alone to build new infrastructure projects as a result of its concerns about the Scottish Futures Trust.

John Swinney: I do not recognise this description of COSLA’s position. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with COSLA and the Scottish Futures Trust to ensure that investment in public infrastructure in Scotland achieves maximum value for the taxpayer’s money through active collaboration on projects and programmes and use of best practice approaches to procurement.

Tourism

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the opening hours are for a grade two VisitScotland tourist information centre and whether they change according to the time of year.

Jim Mather: This is an operational matter for VisitScotland and I have asked the Chief Executive of VisitScotland to write to the member with this information.